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Volume 6 Relation of U.B/EUB Virginia Conferences to Shenandoah University Dec. 26, 2013
In 2008 the Board of Trustees named the History and Tourism Building for retiring president
James Davis after he completed his service. He commented at the dedication of the building that it was
a symbol of excellent community cooperation and that he hoped that, in later years and with different
community leaders, decisions on future uses of the property would not be difficult or challenging. He
noted that the University and City had shown on several occasions how good will and effective
cooperation made possible the growth and expansion of Shenandoah University, an institution that
former community leaders brought to the community 50 years earlier to serve its citizens by boosting
educational opportunity, economic development, and quality of life.
Millwood Fire Station Property. The acquisition of properties along Millwood Avenue and
Pleasant Valley Road were important to the future expansion of the University. The Millwood Fire
Station was located on the corner of those two streets, and with the growth of the region, the fire and
rescue unit needed to relocate to the east side of Interstate 81. Members of the Fire Station Board, with
their President John Hardman, had conversations with University leaders and city officials about
purchasing their building so they could relocate. The Fire Company did not own the land on which the
building was located, but they had a lease that allowed them to occupy the space as long as they served
as a fire and rescue company. After several years of negotiation, the City Council agreed that if the
University would buy the building for approximately $1.5 million and pay the funds to the fire company
so it could buy land and build at a new site, the City would transfer ownership of the land to the
University at no additional cost. The University purchased the property under this arrangement, and
within 2 years the fire and rescue company had built and relocated into new facilities.
Harry F. Byrd School of Business. The Board of Trustees at the University considered
renovating the former Fire and Rescue Station, and in early designs of a new business school facility
attempted to use part of the building. However, after many hours of deliberation, the University leaders
decided to tear down the facility and make way for a new signature building on the prominent corner of
Pleasant Valley Road and Millwood Avenue. Architects with Dewberry and Davis of Arlington, Va.,
designed a new building to house the Harry F. Byrd School of Business. The building was to be on
three floors, provide for underground parking, and have a double entry, one facing the campus and
another facing the community on one of its busiest traffic corners.
The brick, stone and glass structure anchors the front corner of the campus and is the most
attractive and advanced technological classroom building on campus. It offers a 300-seat auditorium,
80-seat classroom, seven additional classrooms, multiple seminar rooms, Board Room, and more than
30 offices for faculty. The building was made possible with a $3 million gift from Gerald and Helen
Halpin, owners of West Group in McLean, Va., and was named the Halpin-Harrison Building. The
name was in honor of the donors and Stanley Harrison, a former business associate and friend, who
5 years earlier had become the Dean of the Business School. The building housed the Harry F. Byrd, Jr.,
School of Business named for former Senator Byrd and the Byrd family also made significant gifts to
the building fund.
The $13 million facility provided the boost needed for the new Dean of the School, Dr. Randy
Boxx, to obtain AACSB (the International American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business),
accreditation, which is held by only about 10 percent of business schools in the world. Shockey
Construction Company completed the building on time and within budget for the University, as it had
done on many occasions in the past. Ralph Shockey, John Stokley, and Tom Offett served as Chairman
of the Building Committee during the expansion of the campus over two decades and provided valuable
Davis on History of S.C., 1982-2008 81
In 2008 the Board of Trustees named the History and Tourism Building for retiring president
James Davis after he completed his service. He commented at the dedication of the building that it was
a symbol of excellent community cooperation and that he hoped that, in later years and with different
community leaders, decisions on future uses of the property would not be difficult or challenging. He
noted that the University and City had shown on several occasions how good will and effective
cooperation made possible the growth and expansion of Shenandoah University, an institution that
former community leaders brought to the community 50 years earlier to serve its citizens by boosting
educational opportunity, economic development, and quality of life.
Millwood Fire Station Property. The acquisition of properties along Millwood Avenue and
Pleasant Valley Road were important to the future expansion of the University. The Millwood Fire
Station was located on the corner of those two streets, and with the growth of the region, the fire and
rescue unit needed to relocate to the east side of Interstate 81. Members of the Fire Station Board, with
their President John Hardman, had conversations with University leaders and city officials about
purchasing their building so they could relocate. The Fire Company did not own the land on which the
building was located, but they had a lease that allowed them to occupy the space as long as they served
as a fire and rescue company. After several years of negotiation, the City Council agreed that if the
University would buy the building for approximately $1.5 million and pay the funds to the fire company
so it could buy land and build at a new site, the City would transfer ownership of the land to the
University at no additional cost. The University purchased the property under this arrangement, and
within 2 years the fire and rescue company had built and relocated into new facilities.
Harry F. Byrd School of Business. The Board of Trustees at the University considered
renovating the former Fire and Rescue Station, and in early designs of a new business school facility
attempted to use part of the building. However, after many hours of deliberation, the University leaders
decided to tear down the facility and make way for a new signature building on the prominent corner of
Pleasant Valley Road and Millwood Avenue. Architects with Dewberry and Davis of Arlington, Va.,
designed a new building to house the Harry F. Byrd School of Business. The building was to be on
three floors, provide for underground parking, and have a double entry, one facing the campus and
another facing the community on one of its busiest traffic corners.
The brick, stone and glass structure anchors the front corner of the campus and is the most
attractive and advanced technological classroom building on campus. It offers a 300-seat auditorium,
80-seat classroom, seven additional classrooms, multiple seminar rooms, Board Room, and more than
30 offices for faculty. The building was made possible with a $3 million gift from Gerald and Helen
Halpin, owners of West Group in McLean, Va., and was named the Halpin-Harrison Building. The
name was in honor of the donors and Stanley Harrison, a former business associate and friend, who
5 years earlier had become the Dean of the Business School. The building housed the Harry F. Byrd, Jr.,
School of Business named for former Senator Byrd and the Byrd family also made significant gifts to
the building fund.
The $13 million facility provided the boost needed for the new Dean of the School, Dr. Randy
Boxx, to obtain AACSB (the International American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business),
accreditation, which is held by only about 10 percent of business schools in the world. Shockey
Construction Company completed the building on time and within budget for the University, as it had
done on many occasions in the past. Ralph Shockey, John Stokley, and Tom Offett served as Chairman
of the Building Committee during the expansion of the campus over two decades and provided valuable
Davis on History of S.C., 1982-2008 81
